Gospel Talktrine

Through the story of the Jaredites, Moroni contrasts the two roads people can take, the diverging paths of gratitude and idolatry.

Moroni begins the tale of the Jaredites, an ancient people following an even more ancient path, across the water to the promised land.

Mormon and Moroni both bid the Book of Mormon’s readers farewell, each in his own distinctive way.

Mormon describes the decline of his people, with an emphasis on Heavenly vs. earthly gifts, and the concept of vengeance vs. redemption.

Jesus instructs that his name must be upon his Church, sets apart the three Nephites, and Nephite society enjoys two centuries of peace and blessedness.

Mark relates the story of his brush with COVID-19 and how it affected his family and this podcast. Look for new episodes starting this week!

On the second and third days of his visit to Bountiful, Jesus gave the Nephites the highest blessings of the Gospel, including healing, understanding of mysteries, and perhaps most importantly of all, sanctification.

In a single day, Jesus institutes the sacrament, teaches prayer in his name, bestows keys for the gift of the Holy Ghost, and introduces many other practices we associate with His modern church.

Jesus’ Sermon at the Temple is not simply a call for us to be inwardly as well as outwardly faithful; it contains detailed instructions for how a Hebrew nation with centuries of tradition in the Law of Moses will carry on their worship both in public and in private now that that Law is fulfilled.

The “good news” of the Gospel is both reversed and then redoubled, as the Nephites suffer three days of darkness and destruction before the arrival of that long-awaited day in which they finally meet their Savior.

Samuel the Lamanite’s prophecies regarding the birth of Christ are fulfilled, and the Nephites undergo many violent trials during his lifetime.

The prophet Samuel initiates a 5-year countdown to the birth of Christ, as he offers the Nephites a clear choice of paths—one leading to peace, and the other to assured destruction.

Mormon relates the story of Nephi praying on his tower to bring home to us the lesson of how universal is the pride, the weakness, and the depravity of man, and how desperate is our need for a steady stream of his messengers if we are to overcome the evils of our nature.

Nephite and Lamanite societies conflict, reconcile, merge, and divide again with their roles reversed, all in just a few short years, as the appearance of an ancient evil takes them from the height of righteousness to the depths of depravity.

Moroni and Helaman achieve victory in their wars both military and spiritual, Moroni through his unwavering commitment to defend freedom, and Helaman through his mutual love for the people of Ammon.

Just as the Lamanites embark on a campaign of massive aggression against the Nephites, a great leader arises capable of saving them—the legendary hero, Captain Moroni.

In motivating his son Corianton to repent, Alma teaches him not only about sexual purity, but about resurrection, judgment, the Fall and Atonement, the justice of God, and the plan of mercy.

Mike Madsen delivers his presentation on the presence and prevalence of chiasmus and parallelism in the Book of Mormon, giving and explaining examples from the Old Testament as well. This presentation was originally published as a video on the Gospel Talktrine YouTube channel. Watch it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FahcvsYHVKE or at http://www.gospeltalktrine.com/chiasmus-in-the-book-of-mormon-special-episode-s00e09.

Alma counsels his sons on how to care for sacred things, tells them what it will mean to carry on when he is gone, and, above all, teaches them of the transformative power of Jesus Christ.

On their mission to the Zoramites, Alma and Amulek teach that there’s humility and then there’s humility, that not all beliefs are created equal, and that the word is in Christ unto salvation.